The 7.7 cm Feldkanone 16 (7.7 cm FK 16) was a field gun used by Germany in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Most surviving examples in German service were rebarreled after the war as the

7.5 cm FK 16 nA The 7.5 cm Feldkanone 16 neuer Art (7.5 cm FK 16 nA) was a field gun used by Germany in World War II. Originally built as the World War I-era 7.7 cm FK 16, surviving guns in German service were re-barrelled during t ...

(''neuer Art'', meaning "new model"). A total of 298 guns of the old type were still in German army service in 1939, making it the oldest field artillery piece in German inventory at the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

History

The older 7.7 cm FK 96 n.A. field gun was very mobile, but, once the war settled into trench warfare, its lack of range became a serious disadvantage. The FK 16 was intended to remedy this problem. The barrel was lengthened and it was given a box carriage to allow for greater elevation, which increased the range. It was also given separate-loading ammunition to reduce powder consumption and barrel wear at short ranges, although this had the drawback of reducing the rate of fire compared to the older gun. It was prematurely rushed into production in 1916 and early guns suffered from a number of defects, mainly stemming from the German use of substitute materials to reduce consumption of strategic metals. It also suffered from a large number of premature detonations of its shells during 1916. These were traced to poor quality control of its shells, which were sometimes too large in diameter, and problems with the

picric acid Picric acid is an organic compound with the formula (O2N)3C6H2OH. Its IUPAC name is 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP). The name "picric" comes from el, πικρός (''pikros''), meaning "bitter", due to its bitter taste. It is one of the most acidic ...

used as

high explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An ...

filler in lieu of TNT. The picric acid would form very sensitive picric salts within days of filling the shells and would often detonate from the shock of firing. Lacquering the insides of the shells and spraying them with a turpentine/starch solution neutralized the picric acid and prevented it from forming picric salts. The barrel of this gun was mounted on the carriage of the 10.5 cm Feldhaubitze 98/09 as the 7.7 cm Kanone in Haubitzelafette (i.e. "cannon on howitzer carriage") to allow it greater elevation and range. Belgium modified the guns it received as post-war reparations as the Canon de 75 mle GP II and the Canon de 75 mle GP III. After the war, some guns were retained by Germany, re-barreled into 75mm caliber, and used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as the

References

Publications

* Hogg, Ian. ''Twentieth-Century Artillery''. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000 * Jäger, Herbert. ''German Artillery of World War One''. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood Press, 2001

External links

7.7 cm FK 16 on Landships
{{WWIGermanArtillery World War I artillery of Germany World War I guns 77 mm artillery